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We are looking at translating our website. We have found two different people to translate for us. One is proficient in HTML and dreameaver, the other in Trados.

I've noticed with Trados when working with HTML files it imports variables to translate as well in javascript etc. This could cause things to break...I could mark certain tags which shouldn't be translated...but I have yet to find an easy way.

Would love to hear some suggestions...

Cheers,

Ronnie

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The easy way is to use Trados, and in particular TagEditor (not Workbench). This will protect all the HTML tags and allow you to translate only the text. Other CAT tools provide similar options. DreamWeaver does not - it is not designed for this purpose.

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FYI, you can create a modified DTD in Trados (based on the standard HTML DTD) that will mark JavaScript tags as untranslatable. That way, any JS content will automatically be greyed out once the HTML file is opened in Trados TagEditor using that setting.

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That is if you want an interesting and selling website. Personally, I would never choose between translators depending on the tools they use/are able to use.

Please note: As I do not work with Trados, I have no idea whether or not this tool makes a mess of JavaScript.

I'm guessing here, but I assume that you don't work for a translation agency which might need, or rather want, to keep gigantic translation memories. So unless this is content that needs to be constantly updated, a CAT/TEnT such as Trados is really not called for.

In my in-house position, I work in Dreamweaver, or even in Notepad, or directly in the company's proprietary CMS tool. As a freelancer, I usually work with a CAT/TEnT, my preferred option being MemoQ.

Regardless of the tools I use, I deliver the same high quality content.

There are of course issues such as consistency which might make the use of a CAT/TEnT preferable, but I would never outsource to a translator depending on the tool/s he or she is able to use. As long as I have both the original and the translation, I can easily convert this into whichever format I prefer.

But if I receive a pig's ear of content, no tool, however advanced, will turn it into a silk purse.

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You make a list of pros and cons and each of the two translators will be able to help you on this.

For me, the choice is clear: to create a web page, use DreamWeaver; to translate it, use a computer-assisted translation (CAT) tool.

A CAT tool (Trados or another) has some clear advantages:

- Tags are marked and protected (the translators does not have to waste time telling appart what is translatable and what is not translatable).

- With a CAT tool, the translator has some specific facilities like spell-checking in their language (I don't know if DreamWeaver has a spellchecing function for all languages).

- Updates are more easily managed with a CAT tool because the translator will be able to see what has changed and translate only the new and changed parts. I don't know if DreamWeaver has function to compare old and new texts so that you only translate new parts.

- Thinking in the future, you might want to have a workflow which is suitable for other translators. If you have to select new translators, I think you will find more translators who can use CAT tools than translators who can use DreamWeaver.

I think most translators will be more efficient with a CAT tool than with DreamWeaver or Notepad.

Daniel

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Where is the TagEditor? I have Trados 2009 SP2, and MultiTerm Desktop...I looked in the help and I couldn't see anything about the program called TagEditor...

Ronnie

Peter Linton wrote:

The easy way is to use Trados, and in particular TagEditor (not Workbench). This will protect all the HTML tags and allow you to translate only the text. Other CAT tools provide similar options. DreamWeaver does not - it is not designed for this purpose.

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